Pleasanton Weekly

LPFD deputy chief retires after nearly 18 years

Moorhead will continue to serve the community by teaching at Las Positas

by Glenn Wohltmann

Deputy Chief Jane Moorhead has retired from the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department after almost 18 years of service.

In all, she has spent nearly 34 years in public service. Although leaving the department, where a ceremonial final roll call was held this morning, Moorhead plans to continue doing one of the things she loves by teaching future firefighters and paramedics at Las Positas College. She has taught EMT, Paramedic and Fire Science programs at both Las Positas and Los Medanos colleges.

Moorhead is a Bay Area native. She grew up in Oakland and attended Oakland High School and went on to complete a bachelor's degree in Forestry at UC Berkeley.

She began her public service career in 1979 as a park ranger for the East Bay Regional Park District, and eventually joined the district's fire department where she became one of two EMTs at the time.

Moorhead became interested in a firefighter-paramedic position thinking that it seemed like "the best job in the world," she said.

"This job covers the gamut," she said. "It's fun and exciting and if you're an adrenaline junkie, that's good. It's also giving to the community -- we're all servants at heart."

"Being able to make someone feel better, to relieve their pain, both mentally and physically, that's the thing that really sustains you as a person, it sustains your soul," she added.

Moorhead completed Paramedic School at the Foothill/Stanford program in 1989 and was hired by the city Benicia Fire Department.

In 1995 she returned to Alameda County, joining the Livermore Fire Department as a Firefighter-Paramedic. She was promoted to Captain in 2001, to Battalion Chief in 2006, and to Deputy Chief in 2010.

Throughout her career, Moorhead has been heavily involved in training with an emphasis on EMS and Wildland Firefighting.

She completed the California State Fire Marshal's Master Instructor program in 2000 and is a member of FEMA California Task Force and the East Bay Incident Management Team.

Moorhead is married to Bob Heady. They reside in Dublin with their certified therapy dog, Kylie. She and her husband enjoy cycling, hiking and kayaking and are avid world travelers.

Having summers off will allow the pair a chance to do more traveling. While she has already visited all seven continents, Moorhead and Heady plan to pack their truck and their dog to drive the Alaska Highway.

"It'll be good to not have to be any place at any particular time," she said.

The two also hope to finish a long-standing goal of visiting every major league baseball park in America. They've hit many of them so far, but large areas -- including Texas and much of the South -- are still on their agenda.